Borscht makes movies in Miami.

Borscht is a nonprofit with the simple mission to redefine cinema in Miami. Local filmmakers created Borscht in response to the lack of regional infrastructure and support, empowering artists to tell fresh Miami stories.

Since first receiving a grant from the Knight Foundation five years ago, Borscht has...

...by developing, overseeing, and commissioning the creation of dozens of short films, often by first-time filmmakers from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

During this time, Borscht's unlikely and unprecedented run has consisted of over 300 festival screenings worldwide (including ten films across six consecutive years at Sundance), over forty jury and audience awards, millions of online views, dozens of art exhibitions in galleries and museums like the Guggenheim and MoMA, and appearing on newspaper and magazine covers to announce Miami's independent film community as “a freaky force to reckoned with."

In 2014 Borscht was awarded South Florida Film Critics Circle's Golden Orange Award for “fresh, vital...tireless championing of independent filmmaking” in Florida. Recent retrospectives include Contemporary Art Center (New Orleans), Glasgow Short Film Festival, CERN (Geneva) and IFP (New York), with another scheduled later this year at LACMA.

EVENTS

7:00 PM #MOONLIT (Oscar Block Party!) @African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
Root for the Moonlight home team to take home statues at the ONLY official Moonlight Oscar Party. Bring pots and pans to celebrate the wins in true Miami style!
*presented by A24
Free or pay what you want with RSVP (must have ticket for entry).

5:00 PM Moonlight Comes Home @African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
Free screening of Moonlight by Barry Jenkins, the record-breaking film that was created by Liberty City Natives and filmed right in the neighborhood, now nominated for eight Academy Awards!

This film originated as a Borscht collaboration, was made in Miami by locals, and has grown to be the most awarded film of the year. It is living proof that with the right development and support, there is no limit to what Miami voices can achieve.

1:00 PM Black Voices on Silent Film @African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
In the early 1900’s Florida was the center of “race films,” silent films that depicted African Americans in a more nuanced and positive light than other forms of entertainment at the time. This screening sheds light on the few films that survived, with a live score.

11:00 PM Pamplemousse Party! (Trina + Installations + LaCroix) @Alfred I. Dupont Building
The iconic former gilded bank is converted into the #NOBROZONE, a celebration of female-identifying artists and debut of works created within an ecosystem where no men were involved in the green-lighting process.

The opulent space will be activated with over 25 installations and screenings, including a Slumpie Garden, a Sex Club Inc. booth, a performance by Marnie Ellen with new music by Dan Deacon, a living room made entirely of military-grade bullet-proof foam, poetry textiles by sadpapsmear, a vogue ball by Catwalk, and a fitness rave by HyperBody & Honnda.

7:00 PM BORSCHT 10 (Main Event!) @Olympia Theater at Gusman Center
Our flagship event: a screening of short films specifically commissioned for this festival made in/for/about Miami by local and guest filmmakers. In years past, these films have gone on to become feature films, play at Sundance and hundreds of other fests, and become viral sensations. See films in the city they were made for, before anyone else.

Arrive early to catch a psychedelic opera and other surprises. Hosted by a team of sentient corals from the future.

5:00 PM SHART TANK Live! @Alfred I. Dupont Building
Be part of the studio audience at a live taping of SHART TANK, a game show where ‘entrebroneurs’ pitch their best worst ideas to a panel of mostly powerful white men to win $500 and/or an investment deal, or fail and face unspeakable consequences.

2:00 PM Borscht T Time: Code Switch Your Way To The Top @Miami Center for Architecture & Design
The T will be served in this practical guide for people of color on how to succeed in an industry dominated by wealthy straight white men. With Walter Newman (Adult Swim), Dilcia Barrera (LACMA, Sundance), and Tamir Muhammed (OneFifty). Moderated by Agatha Christie (comedian, cam girl).

Based The rumors are true, instead of trying to finance a feature film, Borscht is getting a speedboat. In a guided tour of the certified Greatest PDF of All Time, find out how we are doing it, what we are going to do with this really sick, really fast boat, as well as why buying a sweet boat is smarter than making an independent film.

Mo Twine reveals a process that may change filmmaking forever. He's working with custom software to algorithmically generate new films from existing work using only text input, and will showcase pieces that demonstrate the potential of this new storytelling tool.

The T will be served in this conversation between Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty) and Tamir Muhammed (OneFifty) that examines the transition from independent filmmaking to working with big studios while maintaining your voice and explores opportunities that exist for filmmakers looking to make this transition. Moderated by Christine Davila (Warner Bros, Ambulante Film Festival).

Very important celebration of an overlooked classic directed by Louis CK, as well as the debut of the Secret Celluloid Society Roadshow’s new portable 35mm system! A special Q and A will follow screening.

Coral Orgy is an explosion of the concept of a film festival that also part concert, part haunted house, and part art installation.
There has never been an event like this in Miami.

Frank Gehry’s acclaimed building is transformed into its past and future states as a psychedelic coral reef via immersive projection-mapping by local marine biologists/artists Coral Morphologic with a live score performed by Animal Collective as a site specific performance of all-new music.

The audience is free to explore various experiences throughout the building, including a special performance by Hot Sugar, a Bermuda triangle ritual by Otto von Schirach and a special guest, screenings of short films by Jacolby Satterwhite, and new virtual, augmented, aural, and physical realities by Rachel Rossin, Mayer\Leyva, Tenderclaws, and more.

You may not get the immersive experience of being inside the Coral Orgy, but you can get a taste with a livestream wallcast projected onto one of the largest screens in North America, with a special activation by John Hancock III.